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Ocean Eyes
''Ocean Eyes ''is the second studio album by American ''electronica project Owl City. It was released on iTunes on July 14, 2009, in stores on September 1, 2009 (with a photograph of the Burj Al Arab as its album artwork). A vinyl edition was also released. A deluxe edition was released on January 26, 2010,[1] featuring four new tracks including a remix of "Hello Seattle". The album features guest vocals by Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen on the songs "Fireflies", "Cave In", "The Bird and the Worm" and "Tidal Wave".'' Background On July 14, 2009, the song "Fireflies" was chosen as the Single of the Week by the iTunes music store. This led to a huge success as the song was downloaded over 650,000 times and helped the album reach No. 2 on the US store. This success also led to the record company pushing back the release date of the physical copy of the album from July 28, 2009 to September 1, 2009.[2] Adam Young, the founder of Owl City told The Sun that "Cave In" was especially dear to his heart as "that song captures in just a few words, all my hopes and dreams."[3] The album sold approximately 18,000 copies digitally in its debut week. The album reached the top ten in the US peaking at No. 8. The same week its lead single "Fireflies" topped the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100 Billboard Hot 100]. Eventually, Ocean Eyes climbed to No. 1 on iTunes after the album price was lowered for a limited period of time. The album has slightly different versions of songs from previous albums, namely "Hello Seattle" from Of June and "On the Wing" and "The Saltwater Room" from Maybe I'm Dreaming. Critical reception Ocean Eyes has received mixed reviews from critics, based on an aggregate[12] Metacritic score of 53/100, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". The album gained some positive reviews, including Entertainment Weekly which gave it a B+ and said that it was filled with memorable choruses and that the highlight song was "Dental Care". Jesus Freak Hideout also was favorable towards the album; the review highlighted the album's musical style, saying that it had "dreamy lyrics and open soundscapes." However, on the other hand, Rolling Stone claimed Ocean Eyes as "disappointing", only awarding it 2/5 stars. The magazine especially criticized the slower songs, saying that forgettable tracks like "On the Wing" were "just mush". Allmusic also gave the album an a total of 2.5/5, stating "Ocean Eyes ultimately winds up too sugary for its own good, though, having focused on dessert without giving its listeners any sort of meaty, substantive entrée. A handful of ballads add some sense of variety to the album's pace, but Owl City is largely a vehicle for the one song Adam Young knows how to make." Singles "Fireflies" was released as the album's first single on July 14, 2009 in the US and on January 8, 2010 in the UK.[13][14] It climbed the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100 Billboard Hot 100]slowly until reaching No. 7 and leaping to No. 1 the following week. "Fireflies" topped the Billboard Chart for two non-consecutive weeks, as well as topping the iTunes Top 100 Chart for several weeks. "Fireflies" was originally released as a free US iTunes digital download the week the album had its digital release in the US, which could have contributed to the single's massive success. Even now that Fireflies is three years old, it continues to make the top 10 most downloaded songs in many countries.[15] "Fireflies" also reached No.1 on the Official UK Singles Chart on January 24, 2010. "Vanilla Twilight" was released as the album's second US single on January 26, 2010 to radio, the same day that the deluxe edition of Ocean Eyes hit stores.[16] During the same week that "Fireflies" topped the Hot 100, "Vanilla Twilight" debuted at No. 95. It has since re-entered and re-peaked on the Hot 100 at No. 72 on the week ending January 9, 2010. "Umbrella Beach" was released as the album's second UK single on May 17, 2010. "Umbrella Beach" was originally released promotionally on November 19, 2009, preceding the release of the official first single "Fireflies." An exclusive remix created by Kenny Hayes is included on the single release.[17] There is also a music video available for it. Unlike "Fireflies" and "Vanilla Twilight", Young does not appear in the video, aside from a few photos. Digital singles "Strawberry Avalanche" and "Hot Air Balloon" were released as digital-only promotional singles in June 2009, leading up to the release of the album, though they did not appear on the album. "Sunburn" was released as a digital-only promotional single for the soundtrack of 90210 in October 2009, and it was also released free to people who bought "Ocean Eyes" during a span of several weeks of December 2009.